Archive for October, 2016

i’ve been a bit concerned about how fast the sequel is gaining weight. granted, we had a weight stall-out with the turkey around two months because of his severe gerd but it still seems like this boy is gaining too fast. just in the last couple of weeks he’s gone from the 55th percentile to the 75th. at seven weeks old yesterday, he weighed 12 lbs 7.5 oz. that’s over five pounds since birth. i think i remember the turkey’s dr saying that they look for babies to double birth weight by four months (the turkey was closer to six). this little guy is on track to double in just over two months. anyhow, between that and the tummy troubles, i’ve decided to try stretching is schedule a little. instead of a three hour schedule, i’m going to start him on a 3.5 hour schedule and see how he does. we had the turkey on a four hour schedule at sixish weeks because of the reflux so i don’t anticipate any problems with milk supply or anything. i can always change it back if there are any problems but i think he’ll do fine with it.

after an unprompted count to thirty during dinner tonight, the turkey counted to ten in spanish. i asked him if he could do french to which he responded “je m’appelle {turkey}.” i started with “un” (one) and he finished the ten-count. i then asked him about german. i started and he jumped in at “sieben” (seven). he then insisted that we keep doing german again and again until he was able to do all ten. i love my crazy smart and thirsting-for-more-knowledge little guy!

today, we spoke for the first time in ten years. it was a let’s-act-like-nothing-ever-happened 45 minute conversation. there were tongue-biting moments but i played the game because i’m trying. after all, i’m the one who extended the invitation because i feel she should have the opportunity to meet these amazing kids. it’s up to her to make that happen but i sincerely hope that she does. i honestly had no clue how to respond to “so what have you been up to, other than having babies?” how do you succinctly cover “what you’ve been up to” for a decade? time will tell.

yesterday was our first battle with willful defiance. while i was getting a cloth to clean the turkey after lunch, he decided to shove the last four chunks of chicken into his mouth and chew them all up. when i got back to the table, i found him with his mouth completely stuffed full of chicken. he continued to chew and chew and chew but refused to swallow. he very skillfully drank half his milk without swallowing any of the chicken. i stayed very calm, asking him repeatedly to swallow the chicken so he could take a nap. i then told him that if he hadn’t swallowed his food by the time i got him all cleaned up and out of his chair, he would be getting a spank. i told him a couple times so that he understood what was at stake. when i got him down, i delivered on my promise. i think that’s the second time i’ve ever had to spank him. he cried, drank more milk, and still refused to swallow any of the food. the dance continued and by the time the hubby got home fifteen minutes later, the turkey had had four fully warned spanks. the hubby then took over and ended up delivering another two spanks over the next fifteen minutes before the turkey decided to end the battle of the wills by artfully puking all over his daddy. holy cats! please tell me that this was a singular aberration for my wonderfully good boy and not the beginning of some hellish stage of epic defiance.

hard to believe that it’s been two years since i last heard your voice and your laughter. it’s unreal that life has just gone on without you. your grandson, who you were so excited to meet, is a toddler now. complete with sleeping fits and tantrums and singing songs and real conversations and just all kinds of amazing. he is ridiculously smart. you would be so proud and you would have a ton of fun with him. he’s a big brother now. truly, he’s the best big brother on earth. he has a little brother who we named in your honor. the sequel has your hairline, dark hair, and blue eyes. you would dote on these boys and spoil them rotten; i just know it. the turkey asks to look at pictures and videos of grampy all the time. it makes my heart smile and ache all at the same time. i still give him a kiss on the forehead from grampy every night before bed. i do the same for the sequel because i know you would tell me to and i want him to grow up knowing just how much you would have adored him.

i love you, daddy. i love you and i miss you every day.

i love how your pride and joy shines through in this photo

the turkey looks just as proud holding his brother as you looked holding him

it’s been a rough three weeks for sure. i have the nasty habit of comparing the sequel to the turkey, who was pulling nice five hour stretches from the sixth day on. the sequel can’t seem to get past three hours – three and a half if i’m super lucky. i do remember some exhausting nights with the turkey too but i was always able to nap during the day with him to make up for it. now that i’ve got a toddler to look after, that’s not so much an option. hubby has been doing a great job of keeping the turkey occupied but his schedule doesn’t really overlap with the sequel’s so i’ve only got thirty minutes or so here and there to try to rest my eyes. all day yesterday, i felt like i was about at my wit’s end. thankfully, the sequel decided to take mercy on his momma last night by pulling a heavenly 4.5 hour stretch followed by a 3.5 hour one. i feel considerably less zombie-like today after getting almost five hours of sleep throughout the night!